Lanzo, 46, said he used Johnson & Johnson talc-based powder products for more than 30 years.

He claimed that by inhaling dust from the products that contained cancer-causing asbestos, he contracted mesothelioma, a deadly form of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs.

The jury found J&J responsible for 70% of the damages and a division of France-based talc supplier Imerys was responsible for 30%.

Lanzo's case was the first to go to trial in New Jersey, Johnson & Johnson's home state. The jury sat barely a mile from J&J headquarters.

One of the company's biggest shareholders is Woody Johnson, a pal of President Trump and the current U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. Johnson, who owns the New York Jets, is a great-grandson of J&J founder Robert Wood Johnson.

But talc is often mined near asbestos, which is long proven to cause mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer. Mesothelioma is almost always fatal.

Johnson & Johnson and other companies say that since the 1970s, they've kept asbestos out of their baby powders and other talc products.

J&J denied the lawsuit's charges and said its products — such as Johnson's Baby Powder — don't contain asbestos or cause cancer.

During the trial, J&J lawyers claimed Lanzo could have contracted mesothelioma from other sources, said media reports. It noted that the house in Montclair, N.J., where he grew up once had asbestos-wrapped pipes, and that the public schools attended were also treated for asbestos.

"While we are disappointed with this decision, the jury has further deliberations to conduct in this trial and we will reserve additional comment until the case is fully completed," Johnson & Johnson spokeswoman Carol Goodrich said in a statement.

The jury will begin a second phase of the trial to consider punitive damages on Tuesday.